Ruthless Andrew Strauss determined to inflict slow death on Australia

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Done to a turn: the control exerted by Yardy, left, and Swann has enabled England to dominate the NatWest SeriesPhilip Brown /Reuters

John Westerby

Last updated at 9:46PM, June 28 2010

Trailing 3-0 in the five-match NatWest Series and desperate to avoid a
whitewash, Australia arrive at the Brit Oval tomorrow lamenting their dearth
of spin options since Shane Warne’s retirement.

However, it is not the first time that England have taken advantage —
Australian memories are still fresh of the final Test of last year’s Ashes
series, when Ricky Ponting opted to play without a spinner and Graeme Swann
took eight wickets in the match to propel England to victory.

Once again at Old Trafford on Sunday, the superiority of England’s spin
bowling was crucial to their narrow victory. Whereas Ponting